Robert Mondavi Winery to Buy Byron Vineyard
The Robert Mondavi Winery has agreed to acquire Byron Vineyard & Winery in Santa Barbara County, The Times has learned.
The deal would further expand Mondavi’s extensive land holdings along California’s Central Coast. It follows the 1987 purchase by Mondavi of more than 1,000 acres of vineyards in Santa Barbara County.
No purchase price was announced, but sources said the transaction amounts to more than $6 million.
The purchase, which is expected to be completed on March 1, includes a modern winery built in 1984, 175 acres of vineyards, and inventory of 20,000 cases of wine.
Byron was founded by Ken Brown, Byron’s general manager and wine maker and formerly wine maker at nearby Zaca Mesa Winery; grape grower Dale Hampton; Los Angeles television producer Douglas Cramer, and investor Howard Wilkening. When health problems prompted Wilkening to sell his share, Brown suggested the partners call the Mondavis. Brown will be retained in his present positions.
The Mondavi-Byron deal is the second major acquisition of a Central Coast Winery by a Napa Valley winery. Two years ago, Beringer Vineyards bought Estrella River Winery in Paso Robles and changed its name to Meridian. Also, Kendall-Jackson of Lake County owns large vineyard holdings in the area.
